Was Tucker Carlson caught off guard by Fox News exit? His final show would suggest so
Tucker Carlson’s sudden departure from Fox News appears to have surprised the host himself – based on comments made during his final show on Friday.
The right-wing network shockingly announced on Monday that it had “bid farewell” effective immediately to its top primetime presenter, whose final show will air on Friday.
“FOX News Media and Tucker Carlson have agreed to part ways,” the network said in a statement shared with The Independent.
“We thank him for his service as a host and before that as a contributor.
“Mr. Carlson’s last program was Friday April 21st. Fox News Tonight will air live tonight at 8 p.m. as an in-between show hosted by rotating Fox News personalities until a new anchor is named.
Fox News offered no explanation for the sudden departure of one of its biggest anchors — even though it just days after the network agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems $787 million over election lies the software company claimed were pushed on Carlson’s and other personality shows been.
Based on Carlson’s last appearance on his primetime show, he didn’t seem to see it coming either.
Concluding his show on Friday, the right-wing commentator cheerfully told viewers that “we’ll be back on Monday”.
“What a great end to the week,” he said of his final segment.
“That’s it for us for the week, we’ll be back… We’ll be back on Monday – in the meantime have the best weekend with your loved ones. Until then.”
Tucker Carlson at his final show on the network
(Fox News)
Last Tuesday, Fox News reached a $787 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems over its $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit, which accused the network of fueling conspiracy theories and false claims that its ballot machines failed the election rigged against Donald Trump in 2020.
Negotiations went to the end, with the settlement coming just moments before the expected start of opening disputes in court – a move that effectively saved media mogul Rupert Murdoch and many of Fox News’ biggest names, including Carlson and Sean Hannity, from having to do so testify in the case.
In the court documents filed in this case, Carlson’s name and show appeared several times in Dominion’s allegations of the electoral lies.
In one particularly embarrassing filing, text messages showed him that he “hates” Mr. Trump — an extreme departure from the attitude he was conveying to his viewers.
Fox News’ legal battles over the election lies are far from over, as voting company Smartmatic is pursuing a similar lawsuit.
Prior to Dominion, the Fox News anchor was also known for spreading far-right conspiracy theories on his primetime show.
